Holmes put his mouth to my ear. His voice was low and I could feel his hot breath on my neck. “I warned you to be vigilant, Watson.”

He turned to the little woman and grasped her shoulder, squeezing it in a not unaffectionate fashion. “Now, my dear, you were saying. About the thirty-nine steps…?”

For the first time, the woman appeared to lose her confidence. Her eyes flicked between myself and Holmes. Her lips quivered and she clasped her bony fingers together. “Look, I don’t know, I just did what he said, that’s all.”

Holmes smiled kindly. “What who said?”

“Maury.”

I felt a sudden jolt in my stomach. I glanced at Holmes but his gaze was on the old woman.

“Maury who?”

She shrugged. “Maury Artie. Why, d’you know him?”

Holmes turned to me. “Watson, I think a certain phrase is called for.”

2 responses to “From the Mouths of Crones…”

Dr Watson does seem a little tetchy.Maybe she could have refined her offer to him and gone for the Three Steps To Heaven. It would haves been quite handy really as I know the first two steps intimately but I’m always asleep before finding out what the third one is.
Hugs